Zhang Heng was no stranger to Administration Building No. 1 of the nuclear power plant.
This was because nine months ago, he, Coconut, and the others had a “friendly” conversation with the plant manager, Breuhanov, and the chief engineer, Fomin, in the underground bunker of this building.
Now, Zhang Heng was here again. Wearing a suit, leather shoes, and slicked-back hair, he followed the receptionist to the small conference room on the fourth floor.
There were already many people dressed like him sitting in the corridor. Zhang Heng found the corresponding seats according to his number. From the arrangement, it could be seen that there were four people in front of him and three people behind.
Including Zhang Heng, the eight people were all here to apply for jobs at the nuclear power plant. Each wore different expressions; some were nervous, some shook their legs, some closed their eyes to rest, and some were constantly wiping their sweat.
Zhang Heng seemed to be the most relaxed of the eight. Taking advantage of the fact that the person in front of him had entered the meeting room, he stood up and went to the water dispenser at the side to get a glass of water. As he drank, he looked out the window.
The nuclear power plant now looked like it was thriving. All kinds of buildings were lined up neatly. The three reactors built one after another were in good condition, providing a steady stream of electricity to Ukraine. Also, the construction of reactor No. 4, which would cause a disaster in the future, was about to be completed. This was also the reason the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant had to start absorbing new blood.
Of course, the new recruits would not immediately be in charge of the operation of the new reactor. Instead, they would first go to other reactors to practice and accumulate work experience.
Zhang Heng finished his glass of water, took another glass, and returned to his seat. He handed it to the man beside him who looked rather nervous. He had already begun biting his fingernails.
The man thanked him and hastily took the glass.
“How shall I address you?” Zhang Heng stretched out a hand.
“Yevgeny.” The man also stretched out his hand, but halfway through, he realized that he was still holding the glass in his hand, so he stretched out his other hand and shook Zhang Heng’s hand in an awkward position, “I used to work at the Beloyarsk nuclear power station.
“I’m Ivan. I’m from the Zapolloge Thermal Power Station No. 1,” Zhang Heng introduced.
Hearing Zhang Heng’s words, the man seemed to heave a sigh of relief, and the tension on his face lessened significantly.
Zhang Heng knew why Yevgeny would relax. The eight people sitting in the corridor were technically competitors. They were competing for four jobs, and the passing rate was exactly 50-50. It would be considered high in the future, but there was still no such situation where hundreds of people were competing for one job.
The recruitment process for nuclear power plants usually followed the model of recommendation. First, there would be recommendations from various parties. Then, the recruitment department of the nuclear power plant would send the candidate list to the Central Council of Nuclear Power for review. After passing, the nuclear power plant would organize an interview to confirm the final list. After that, it would be reported to the Central Council of Nuclear Power for approval. Then, the entire recruitment process would be completed.
It was apparent that the final recruitment list had been agreed upon by the nuclear power plant and the Central Council of nuclear energy. The Central Council of nuclear energy would also be in charge of the background checks, but this was not a problem for Zhang Heng, who was an illegal resident.
Instead of using his identity, he directly found a candidate who was similar in size to himself and used the latter’s identity. The candidates for the nuclear power plant came from all over Soviet territory and were unfamiliar with the place in Pripyat. There was no fingerprint collection system back in that day, so it was only a resume and a photo when submitted. Something like that would be quite easy to be forged.
As long as the photo confirmed that there was no one who had seen him recently among the interviewers at the nuclear power station, Zhang Heng would be able to deal with them with his Level-2 make-up skill. Furthermore, his identity was real, so even if the Central Council of nuclear power called the place where he used to work to verify his identity, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Simply speaking, he had actually replaced Ivan for an interview at the nuclear power plant. From his resume, Ivan was actually not that outstanding of a person. Unlike Yevgeny, who had worked at a nuclear power plant before, Ivan had only worked at a thermal power plant. Yevgeny was obviously aware of this, that was why he felt that he had already eliminated a competitor.
However, Zhang Heng had chosen Ivan not only because he had the most similar build to him, or it would have been meaningless to choose someone who would definitely be eliminated. In fact choosing Ivan had a lot to do with his work experience.
Yevgeny did not chat with Zhang Heng for long. Although the latter had brought him some water and the relationship between the two had become more harmonious, Yevgeny did not forget that the two were still competitors. They chatted very cautiously; all about matters outside of work.
After a while, as the candidates at the front entered the meeting room one by one, it was finally Yevgeny’s turn. Zhang Heng wished Yevgeny a smooth interview, and Yevgeny also politely expressed his gratitude. Then, he adjusted his tie, he walked in.
After a full 20 minutes, Yevgeny walked out of the meeting room. When he came out, he no longer felt nervous. There was still a faint smile on his face, and he even encouraged Zhang Heng, “It’s your turn, Ivan. Do your best and perform well.”
“Thank you, I will.”
Zhang Heng stood up and walked past Yevgeny, pushing open the door to the meeting room.
There was an oval-shaped wooden table inside, and behind it sat three people.
Zhang Heng recognized two of them. One was Bryuhanov, and the other was Fomin. Both of them looked quite well, completely different people from the shells that remained after the explosion. Fomin’s square face was well-defined, and as he sat there, his deep and lively eyes seemed to be able to see through all the candidates. Bryuhanov, on the other hand, had a gentle face and an amiable smile. The upward corner of his eyes showed that everything was under his control.
As for the third person on the right, Zhang Heng searched his memory and found that he did not have any recollection. Whether it was before or after the accident, there was no sign of the third person. He should have left the Chernobyl nuclear power plant before 1986.
At this moment, he was looking at the resume in his hand with a slight frown.
“V.G. Ivan, you are from Crimea. You are 25 years old this year.”
“That’s right.”
“Previously, you worked as a steam turbine engineer at Zapolloge Thermal Power Plant No. 1?”
“Yes.” Zhang Heng nodded
“Then why do you want to work at the Chernobyl?”
“Because everyone says that thermal power represents the past and the present, and nuclear power, a clean energy source, represents the future. I want to embrace the future,” Zhang Heng answered smoothly.
